Apparatus for preparing refuse for incineration



Oct. 23, 1928. 1,689,002

ca. M. WELLS APPARATUS FOR PREPARING REFUSE FOR INCINERATION Filed 001;. 6. 1922 J5 Sheets-Sheet 1 24 2 if f I 1 F 22 1 ,1

gvwewwtoz m1, 4? mm Oct. 23, 1928. 1,689,002

G. M. WELLS APPARATUS FOR PREPARING REFUSE FDR INGINERATION Filed 001;. .6- 1,922 S TSheetS-Sheet 2 Oct. 23, 1928.

G. M. WELLS APPARATUS FOR PREPARING REFUSE FOR INCINERATION Filed Oct, 6. 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Oct. 23, 1928.

UNITED STAS OFFlfi.

GEORGE M. WELLS, OF MONTCLAIB, NEXKT JERSEY.

APPARATUS FOR PREPARING REFUSE FOB. INCINERATION.

Application filed October 6,

My invention relates to an apparatus for preparing refuse for incineration and is particularly useful in the incineration of refuse such as the ordinary house refuse of cities which consists of material of widely varying character and of widely varying sizes and de grees of infian'imability. My improved meth- 0d and apparatus aims particularly to secure a relatively uniform combustion of refuse of this character and to causeits incineration under a forced draft in a closed incinerating furnace.

In the operation of a furnace for incinerating refuse such as above described, measured quantities of refuse are delivered to the furnace and measured quantities of slag or ashes withdrawn, so as to maintain the combustion level in the furnace substantially constant. This operation is quite impossible with ordinary house refuse, particularly if such refuse contain relatively large bodies of readily combustible material which would be apt to form voids in the fuel of the furnace and lead to an unequal distribution of the flame throughout the mass. My improved method and apparatus enables refuse of this character to be handied in an efficient and economical manner.

Referring to the drawings, I have shown:

In F igure 1, a side View, partially in section of an installation containing my improved apparatus and operating according to my method;

In Figures 2 and 4, a detail of the spreader used in the refuse bin;

In Figure 3, a detail of the doors connection with the refuse bin;

In Figures 5 and 6, a plan view and an elevation respectively of the crusher used in the preliminary treatment of the refuse.

Referring to the drawings, an installation using my improved method and apparatus may comprise a landing platform 1, having arranged in conjunction therewith a hopper 2, preferably so located with respect to the platform that vehicles arriving upon the platform may dump from either their sides or their ends into the hopper. Located in the base of the hopper is a crusher which may be driven from the pulley 3, or any'convenient source of power, which crusher comprises a pair of toothed rolls 4 and 5, which may be rotated in opposite directions, preferably at different speeds. Said rolls are arranged to be held in position by means of springs 6, or other suitable means for exerting a yielding pressure on the rolls to enable used in 1322 Serial No. 592,678.

them to separate Without damage to the machine in the event of their encountering a hard object of considerable size incapable of being broken up by the roll. The action of the crusher breaks up the refuse. into parts of a relatively small and substantially uniform size and mills or mixes the refuse so that when deliveredby thecrusher it has a much more uniform composition than when it arrives at the plant and the highly inflammable portions are more or less uniformly dis tributed throughout the mass. 1 I

'The'crusher discharges intoa bin 7, in

.which is arranged a leveling apparatus which may take the form of a carriage 8,

mounted upon wheels 9, adapted to run on tracks 10, supported on supportsl'l at each side of the bin. The carriage 8 may be conveniently made of apair of channel members 1212 set back to back and having interposed between them a depending scraper 13, the channels being separated and having the wheels 9 mounted on the endsthereof, as illustrated in Fig. a. i The scraper is propelled along the traclrlO by any suitable source of power, and tends 'to distribute the refuse which, as stated above,

has previously been divided into parts relatively small and substantially uniform size, the leveling operation being illustrated in Fig. 2. The discharging of the refuse into the bin and its distribution by means of the scraper causes a further mixing of the refuse and results in greater uniformity. Furthermore by means of the scraper the bin. may be filled to its maximum capacity.

The bin 7 is preferably raised somewhat above the general level of the floor by means of supports 14:, or in any other convenient manner, so as to enable the cans 15, or other suitable containers of a standard design and uniform size to be put underneath the bin. Located at the lower edge of the bin are a pair of cooperating doors, shown in detail in Fig. 3 being a perspective view looking upward toward the bottom of the bin. These doors comprise a vertically operating door 16, and a horizontally operating door 17 which join at the edge of the bin. The door 16 may be operated on tracks 18 by means of suitable levers and links 19, the weight of the door being preferably balanced by a counter-weight 20. A similar system of levers is used for the operation of the horizontally moved door 17, but in this case the counter-weight is obviously unnecessary. The arrangement is such use withdrawn has never remained in the bin lVhere morethan a relatively short time.

odors have to be avoided as is the case with readily decolnposible material such as house refuse, it is important that the refuse be kept in the plant the shortest possible length of time. Furthermore the elevation of the binabove the general floor level permits theliquids contained in the refuse to draw off, thus greatly decreasing the amount of heat necessary to be applied to cause incineration. The location of the doors on the bottom and the sides permits the operator to loosen the refuse by inserting a suitable tool through the vertical door, although due to the previous crushing of the refuse, arching in the bin is greatly reduced- The containers 15 are then rolled, as by means of a truck beneath the traveling crane 21 and raised to the incinerator platform 22, passing over the rollers 23 to the charging carriage 24. .This carriage is arranged to invert the container dumping the charge of the furnace without permitting the escape of v furnace gases.

It will be noted that r lVhat I claim is:

1. In an incinerating apparatus, an open top bin supported elevated with relation to a floor plane and having side and end walls forming an upwardly extending refuse chamber with openings through the lm er corners of the bin, tracks mounted inset on the side walls adjacent to the open top of the bin, and a removable carriage travelling the tracks and having a dependent scraper cross-wise of the chamber and substantially the width thereof.

2. In an incinerating apparatus, an open top bin supported elevated with relation to a floor plane, and having a relatively wide, substantially horizontal bottom wall and substantially vertical side walls forming with said bottom an upwardly extending refuse chamber, a corner of said side and bottom walls having an opening for withdrawal of the refuse.

3. In an incinerating apparatus, an open top bin supported elevated with relation to a floor plane, and having a relatively wide, substantially horizontal bottom wall and substantially vertical side walls forming with said bottom an upwardly extending refuse chamber, a corner of said side and bottom walls having an opening for withdrawal of the refuse, and opposed closures working to ward and away from each other at said corner opening and arranged substantially in the respective planes of the bottom and side walls.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my named to this specification this 5th day of October, 1922-.

GEO. M. WELLS. 

